This invention relates to production of a convenience potato product in which a natural potato binder is added to discrete particles of potato tissue to hold such particles together when formed into convenient shapes. The binder is particularly useful in holding together long, thin shreds of pre-cooked potatoes, in the form commonly known as hash brown potatoes so the shreds can be formed into patties and deep-fat fried without falling apart during frying. The patties can be frozen and later prepared for institutional use by deep-fat frying or oven heating and for retail use by oven heating, pan frying, or pre-heating in a common household pop-up toaster.
It has long been known that cooked potatoes, which have been cooled to reduce stickiness of the starch present in the potatoes, can be shredded, and the shreds then formed into a thin layer or patty and fried on a grill to form hash brown potatoes, as they are called in the Unites States, or Roesti, as they are known in Europe.
In the manufacture of hash brown potatoes for use in restaurants, small potatoes are peeled and cooled for a period of 24 to 48 hours at about 50.degree. F. (10.degree. C.). After this time, the starch in the potatoes has been reduced in stickiness to facilitate shredding. The potatoes are shedded, packaged, and stored under refrigeration until used, normally within seven days. The shreds are commonly fried on a greased griddle, and approximately five minutes are required for frying each side of the hash brown patty in bulk. Portion control is difficult, and considerable product is wasted if not used soon after frying.
Frozen hash brown potatoes have been developed to produce a more stable hash brown product. Small whole potatoes or sliced potatoes 1/2 to 5/8-inch (12.7 to 15.9 mm) thick are cooked until edible but still firm and cooled to an internal temperature of about 40.degree. F. to 70.degree. F. (4.degree. C. to 21.degree. C.). The potatoes are shredded, molded into a mass about 1/2 to 5/8-inch (12.7 to 15.9 mm) thick, scored into portions about 3.times.4 inches (76.times.102 mm) to provide convenient serving size, and then frozen. After freezing, the molded, scored blocks are packaged in bulk. For restaurant preparation individual patties are broken from the rectangular block and the finished product is fried on a griddle. The individual frozen patties are fried on the griddle at least five minutes on each side to brown them sufficiently and to thaw and heat the center. It would be desirable to reduce this frying time by deep-fat frying the patties about two to four minutes, or less. However, the potato patties described above cannot be deep-fat fried, either before freezing or for final preparation, because the shreds separate in the fryer and pick up excessive fat.
Various methods for preparing hash brown potatoes have been disclosed in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 2,748,814 to Rivoche describes a method for making frozen food patties in which the comminuted food particles are coated with an edible cellulose gum which gels when heated to hold potato particles together. The same thermal binding system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,399,062 to Willard et al for binding dehydrated potatoes and water to form a mash that is formed into shapes such as french fried potatoes. Use of such binders produces an unnatural texture or mouth feel, when compared with traditional hash brown potatoes, and as a result, the process has not become comercially significant.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,410,702 to Frank describes a process for adding a riced, dehydrated potato to dehydrated diced potatoes for subsequent rehydration and use for making hash brown potatoes by frying on an oiled grill. The reconstituted riced potatoes contain sufficient free amylose to hold together the reconstituted diced potatoes while they are fried. Potato Processing, Edition 1, 1959, page 446, also discloses addition of dehydrated starches of potatoes to mixtures of shredded pieces of dehydrated potatoes to hold them together while fried in a similar manner. The binder in the Frank process contains sufficient soluble amylose, i.e., amylose that is sticky or adhesive enough to bind together the reconstituted potato pieces. The product of the Frank patent is not shaped, but is fried in a random manner on a grill, and is not deep-fat fried.
The present invention provides a method for preparing a natural potato binder that can be mixed with potato shreds to form a potato patty that is capable of being deep-fat fried to form hash brown potato patties on a commercial production basis. In addition to providing hash brown potato patties that hold together in their formed shape during deep-fat frying, this binder makes it possible to form shredded potato patties on a production basis in a high-speed commercial former. It has also been discovered that the binder provides a potato patty that resists excessive fat penetration during deep-fat frying. The barrier provided by the binder also is effective in reducing fat drip upon reheating the potato by toaster preparation.